


We've Almost Survived The Year

by alisonheart



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, F/F, F/M, M/M, featuring flour baby jason, what the tkf's senior year would be like if they lived in modern day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-18 02:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11864304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alisonheart/pseuds/alisonheart
Summary: What do you get when you combine a Home Ec project that gets out of hand, the lesbians from next door, college applications, Jewish holidays, the spring musical, cheating, loving, heartbreak, and baseball?This tight-knit family's senior year of high school.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey pals. Welcome to a fic that I affectionately call "The TKF are seniors in high school and shit goes down."
> 
> This fic was inspired by the tumblr account falsettolandhigh.tumblr.com as well as the RP discord that I am a part of, which was also inspired by said tumblr account.
> 
> I can't fully take credit for all of the events and characterizations in this fic because I really had many co-contributors. I just wrote it down.
> 
> I also don't own Falsettos. Unfortunately.

August 21st started in the least enjoyable fashion a Monday could: with Whizzer Brown’s alarm going off at 6:45. Sleepily, the boy rolled over and pressed his palm over the snooze button. There was no way this was already happening.

It was officially the first day of his senior year of high school.

After lolling around in bed for another ten minutes (and definitely not dozing off again), Whizzer rolled out of bed and cracked his neck. He may not be excited about the first day of school, but he wasn’t going to be late.

(6:57) **To:** Marvin Lake **From:** Whizzer Brown

_good morning prince charming_

(7:00) **To:** Whizzer Brown **From:** Marvin Lake

_it is too early_

(7:01) **To:** Marvin Lake **From:** Whizzer Brown

_i’ll be over in 30 min and u better be ready_

(7:02) **To:** Whizzer Brown **From:** Marvin Lake

_mmm sure_

Thirty minutes of admiring himself in the mirror later, Whizzer was out the door and headed toward his boyfriend’s home with a kiss to his father’s cheek.

A few blocks over, Cordelia McCoy was turning the corner to find her best friend, Charlotte, waiting outside of a brick apartment complex.

“Good morning, sunshine!” Cordelia called out, waving enthusiastically at the other girl. Charlotte visibly brightened as Cordelia approached.

“Good morning, Del.” Charlotte hummed into the other girl’s hair as they hugged tightly. “Are you ready for this?”

“Not in the slightest.” Cordelia grabbed Charlotte’s hand, threading their fingers together and squeezing. “At least I have you.” The girls shared one last smile before heading toward the first day of their last year of high school.

Lincoln High School was not small by any standard, but our seniors had no trouble finding one another. With ten minutes before the first bell, the four friends were gathered under a tree out of the way of the entrance to the school.

“So, has anyone seen or heard from Mend or Trin this morning?” Whizzer asked after exchanging warm welcomes with the girls. His question received a chorus of negatives. “Hmm. They better get here soon if they want to walk in with us because I will not be late to pre-calc on the first day.”

Marvin rolled his eyes and elbowed Whizzer in the ribs.

“Hey! What was that for?” Whizzer exclaimed incredulously.

“Nothing, drama queen.” Marvin quipped back.

“Okay, now, lovebirds. No need to fight. Here come Mendel and Trina.” Cordelia interjected, gesturing over Marvin’s shoulder. “And, I think you’re going to want to see this.”

All four heads whipped around to see the two missing members of their friend group walking toward them. All four pairs of eyes slowly moved down to where their arms met between the two. It was clear as day: Mendel Weisenbachfeld and Trina Houser were holding hands.

No, not holding hands. Gripping each other as they swung their arms between them. “Whoop!” Marvin called out. Even from a distance, the group could tell that Trina was blushing.

“So, you finally got over me, huh?” Marvin commented, throwing his arm over Trina’s shoulder.

“Ugh, please. I’ve been over you for ages.” Trina scowled as she shrugged Marvin’s arm away. “But _anyway_ , yes, Mend finally got the courage to ask me out last night as we were finishing up his summer homework.”

“Aw! Congrats!” Cordelia squealed as she rushed to hug her friend in greeting.

“Thanks Delia. Okay, now enough stalling, let’s get this over with.” Trina declared. And with that, the six seniors turned, grabbed each other’s hands, and marched through the doors of Lincoln High and into their first day.

* * *

The morning dragged past, and by lunch the gang was exhausted and ready to go home. They gathered at their usual table in the cafeteria, exchanging knowing looks.

“So, who’s ready for death?” Whizzer exclaimed as he plopped his tray on the plastic table, startling his friends out of their shared misery. 

“Oh, me definitely.” Charlotte piped up. “Mr. Zien for third period Calc. I don’t know how I’ll ever survive.”

“Oh, I feel you.” Mendel whined. “Why did I take any math this year? It’s not like it’s _required_. And pre-calc? It’s just more algebra!”

"Why did I think it would be a good idea to take four APs this year?" Trina moaned, letting her head fall onto Mendel's shoulder. 

"I don't know, babe. Why someone would take even one is beyond me." Mendel said. He glanced around to see shocked expressions on several of his friends' faces. "What?"

"We're  _all_ taking multiple APs, Mend," Marvin said with a grimace, clapping Mendel on the shoulder.

“Yeah, and you’re all insane.” Mendel stated, as if it was obvious. “Now, what do we have lined up for this afternoon?”

“More suffering!” Trina exclaimed with faux enthusiasm. “Home Ec and Chorus.”

“Hey Trin, we’re in the same Home Ec class! Exciting!” Marvin smiled cheesily at Trina, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

“I swear to god, Lake, if you even _look_ at me during class…” Trina trailed off, clearly trying to think of an insult.

“Oh no, I’m so scared!” Marvin barked out. “Anyway, I hear Mrs. Anderson is pretty wacky and assigns a project, like, the minute you sit down.”

“Yeah I’ve heard that, too.” Trina agreed absentmindedly, clearly distracted by Mendel. Marvin rolled his eyes and turned toward Whizzer, feigning boredom toward Trina.

"Home Ec is easy. You have nothing to worry about," Whizzer reassured. "When I took it last year all we did all year was sewing, which I'm clearly already incredible at. Plus, Anderson lets you eat in class. Anyway, I'm more concerned about  _my_ afternoon. Photography with Coleman and Bio with Grant. Double the devil. Kill me now."

As lunch came to a close, Marvin and Trina walked toward the Home Ec classroom together.

“I wasn’t joking about this class, Marv. I don’t have the energy to deal with you and your… antics.” Trina sighed.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be on my best behavior, whatever.” Marvin muttered in response. “But hey, we’re not dating anymore so you can’t tell me what to do.” He held up a threatening finger.

“Oh, I wouldn’t dare.” Trina smiled sweetly before ducking into the room and slipping into a desk.

Marvin groaned. This was going to be a long year.

Lincoln High’s Home Economics teacher was infamous throughout the school. Mrs. Anderson was rumored to be upwards of 85 years old, had dark, beady eyes, and no set lesson plan. Each year was different, and she was inconsistent.

This year would be no different.

“Good afternoon, class.” She called out from her desk at the back of the room. Her gravelly voice was weak but carried. “Don’t get too comfortable. We will be beginning the year with one of my favorite projects, and I’ve already put you in pairs.”

And with that, Marvin fell into Home Ec hell.

* * *

 “We’re doing flour babies!” Trina exclaimed as she burst into the back room of the diner where she worked with Cordelia.

“Ooh, that’ll be fun!” Cordelia exclaimed, with a slight questioning undertone.

“No, it most definitely will _not._ Because _I_ was paired with _Marvin_.” Trina groaned as she tied on her apron and grabbed her notepad, following Cordelia out into the diner.

“Well, maybe it won’t be so bad. Maybe it’ll give you two a chance to get over whatever weird dynamic you’ve got going on right now.” Cordelia suggested, walking toward Charlotte, who was seated at the bar.

“Oh, you mean how he dumped me for another guy and is acting weirdly possessive over me now that I have a boyfriend?” Trina remarked sarcastically.

“Yeah, that. Now, get to work!” Cordelia ordered, turning back to Charlotte. Trina rolled her eyes, biting back a witty remark about the work that Cordelia herself was getting done.

Instead, she ducked out from behind the bar and walked over to her first table. This day just would not end.

“What’s so bad about being partnered with Marv? Cordelia does have a point…” Charlotte asked later that night as the six friends lounged about in Whizzer’s empty apartment.

“Are you kidding? How am I supposed to raise a child with _him_?” Trina cried out, disbelieving.

“Excuse me? This is a sack of flour we are talking about.” Marvin exclaimed defensively.

“Six weeks of shared responsibility. This is going to be hell.” Trina moaned.

“I mean, at least this baby will have some really great stepdads and… _aunts_?” Mendel pointed out, shrugging toward Cordelia and Charlotte.

“Godmoms.” Charlotte supplied.

“Sure. Godmoms. Either way, that’s four other people who can take responsibility for the baby when it’s too overwhelming for the two of you,” Mendel reassured.

“Need I remind you all, _this is a sack of flour we are talking about!_ ” Marvin cried out.

“Shh, Marv! That is your son or daughter you are talking about!” Whizzer admonished.

“This year is never going to end.” Marvin complained as he flopped back onto Whizzer’s bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter gave me serious grief y'all. enjoy.

“I can’t believe we have to start carrying around a sack of flour on Monday,” Marvin whined as he slid into the seat next to Whizzer in the cafeteria during lunch one Tuesday.

Three weeks of the school year had passed, and things were beginning to pick up. After weeks of poorly assembled PowerPoint presentations and lectures about caring for children, Marvin and Trina’s class was finally beginning their six-week assignment. Neither party was overly enthusiastic.

“Oh, that’s right! You two are finally about to become parents!” Whizzer exclaimed enthusiastically as a suspiciously bright expression crept over his face.

“Hey, now, Brown. I don’t trust that look.” Trina glared across the table as she wagged a threatening finger in the boy’s face.

“What? I don’t have any expression on my face!”

“No, no. You’re planning something. And I’m not going to like it.” Trina accused.

“Okay, so maybe I did just have the most genius idea ever, but…” Whizzer trailed off hopeful.

“Oh my god, go on.” Trina sighed.

“What if we throw a gender reveal party? And we can do a maternity shoot as well!” Whizzer burst out, a shit-eating grin now splitting his face from ear to ear. Trina and Marvin groaned simultaneously.

“Are you kidding me, babe? We are not doing that.” Marvin glared.

“Absolutely not.” Trina agreed.

“As happy as I am to see you two agreeing on something for once,” Delia interjected, “I think we should do it.”

“Oh, come on Delia. Not you too?” Trina moaned.

“No, hear me out! Char and I will choose a gender and I’ll bake a cake that’s blue or pink-“

“Not that we’re buying into gender roles!” Charlotte interrupted.

“No, of course not. But it’ll be cute and cringe and cliché. Come on Trin, you know it would be kind of fun.” Cordelia pouted over at her friend.

“I can’t believe you’re buying into this.” Trina shook her head in disbelief.

“We could even decorate the baby together! You know, draw on a face?” Mendel piped up from Trina’s side. The look Trina shot his direction in response could have killed.

“You all have got to be kidding me. _We are talking about a bag of flour!_ ” Marvin cried out.

“Come on, Marv. This is your child! You’re responsible for it for six weeks. Why not kick it off with a little fun?” Whizzer asked playfully, despite the underlying bite in his tone.

“Ugh, do whatever you want, pretty boy.” Marvin resigned.

“Yes! It is so on!” Whizzer cheered, pecking his boyfriend on the cheek.

“Great, guess it doesn’t matter what I think,” Trina muttered dramatically.

“Trin, no offense, but I knew you’d go for it even if you took some convincing. I was far more concerned about Marv’s reaction because you’ll go along with anything.” Whizzer shrugged in apology.

“Whatever.” Trina replied. “We should probably head to fifth period now. You coming, Marv?”

* * *

 

The week crawled past toward Saturday. Whizzer, Cordelia, Mendel, and a reluctant-turned-excited Trina spent lunch periods and their free afternoons planning the party. They would sit huddled together, heads bowed, whispering and giggling over their plans.

Friday evening found Charlotte sitting on Cordelia’s kitchen counter, watching her friend prepare the cake batter.

“So, we get to pick the gender, huh?” Charlotte said as Cordelia turned off the mixer that had been combining the butter and sugar.

“Mhm. Both Marvin and Trina have given me input,” Cordelia said, wiping her hands on her apron as she glanced at her recipe. “Well, technically everyone has. Whizzer and Trina want it to be a girl. Mendel wants a boy. Marvin wants me to fuck off.”

“Well, that’s no surprise.” Charlotte laughed. “I still don’t entirely understand his disdain for this project. I think it seems fun.”

“Yeah, well, he’s Marv. He’s stubborn. When he decides he doesn’t like something, that’s it. No changing his mind.” Cordelia shook her head, adding in eggs and turning the mixer on once again.

“It’s weird though. Especially being paired with Trina.” Charlotte commented when Cordelia had turned the mixer off and began to mix the dry ingredients. “He’s been so weird around her this year. Ever since she and Mendel got together, Marvin has gotten so possessive.”

“He’s such a dumb boy. Maybe he’d be happier if he let her be happy and actually paid attention to his own boyfriend.” Cordelia sighed out.

“He just can’t let her be happy without him.” Charlotte rolled her eyes.

Cordelia turned to the refrigerator for milk, and turned to find Charlotte dipping a finger in the batter in attempted discreetness. Charlotte just licked the blob away, shrinking slightly under Cordelia’s disapproving glare.

“Don’t you dare act like I didn’t see that, Charlie.” Cordelia reprimanded, reaching over the girl sitting on the counter for the food coloring. Charlotte went very quiet, realizing that Cordelia was standing between her legs.

“Uh, Del?” Charlotte said softly. Delia looked up from her search for the box of dyes to find herself face to face with her best friend.

“Oh,” she breathed out, glancing down slightly towards Charlotte’s mouth. Before either girl could realize what was happening, Cordelia pressed forward and brushed their lips together.

Charlotte’s eyes fluttered closed for a moment before shooting wide open again and she pulled her head back.

“Oh, I, um. Sorry.” The words seemed to spill from Cordelia’s lips. “Now, we need to decide. Boy or girl?”

The girls held eyes for a moment, seemingly having an unspoken conversation.

Wordlessly, Cordelia picked out a dropper and mixed in the dye.

* * *

 

On Saturday morning, the six friends converged in Whizzer’s backyard. Delia and Whizzer had spent the morning decorating, stringing blue and pink streamers from tree to tree, blowing up balloons in pastel colors, and setting out food and drinks.

“I think we _may_ have overdone it, Whiz.” Cordelia pointed out as they looked out over the yard. “There are only six of us.”

“There is no such thing as overdoing a gender reveal/maternity shoot, Delia.” Whizzer laughed, adjusting a streamer and slinging his camera around his neck.

“Are you sure? Because this is a maternity shoot for a fucking bag of flour.” A voice barked out from behind the two friends.

“Ah, Marv. Welcome to your party!” Whizzer called out in a sugary sweet voice. “And you brought friends! And your co-parent! Happy gender reveal, Trina!”

Mendel, Trina, and Charlotte walked through the gate behind Marvin, all looking far more enthusiastic.

“Okay, now that we’re all here, let’s get started on the festivities!” Whizzer called out as the friends gathered. “We’re going to start with baby shower games because they’re disgusting and hilarious.”

“First up, we have ‘What’s In The Diaper.’” Cordelia announced with a wicked smirk on her face. “We’re going to be playing boys versus girls. Each diaper has a different kind of… defecation inside. Your task is to taste the defecation and determine what it is. You’ll write it down on a notepad, and the next person on your team will repeat the process on the next diaper. The team with the most correct answers, or fastest to determine the variety of fecal matter within the diaper in case of a tie wins.”

“Wait, what exactly is in the diapers?” Mendel asked, skeptically.

“Shit.” Whizzer laughed at the horrified look on Mendel’s face. “No, no. I’m joking. It’s edible, I promise. Just wait and see, you’ll like it. At least, once you get over the fact that you’re eating fake shit out of a diaper.”

“Okay, let’s get started!” Delia exclaimed, shepherding the boys to a table on one side of the lawn and the girls to another. “Each person will be eating from two diapers! You don’t need to finish all of the… excrements to record what you think it is. We’ll begin with Marvin and Trina, as they are our soon-to-be parents. Ready? GO!”

Hours of eating melted candy out of diapers, making baby food, and chugging questionable beverages out of baby bottles later everyone was having a good time and laughing, including Marvin.

“Okay, everybody! It’s time for the gender reveal!” Cordelia yelled out, clapping excitedly. “Now, Char and I baked this last night-“

“Correction, Delia baked it. I… watched.” Charlotte interrupted, awkwardly looking anywhere but Cordelia. “Uh, anyway. It’s entirely edible, I promise.”

“Right, yeah. Anyway, we got to decide on the gender, so we’re the only ones who know. So, let’s cut into this thing, shall we?” Laughing nervously, Cordelia handed a knife and cake server to Marvin and Trina.

After some shuffling, Trina ended up cutting a slice out of the beautifully frosted cake, revealing a bright blue inside.

“It’s a boy!” Trina laughed out. The group cheered, and Cordelia began passing pieces of cake around to everyone.

“So now that you know the gender, what are you going to name him?” Mendel asked Trina and Marvin, who glanced awkwardly at each other.

“You know I don’t care.” Marvin said, feigning disgust.

“I don’t know, this seems like a big decision to make on my own.” Trina said, rolling her eyes at Marvin’s apathy.

“Luckily for you, I have a solution!” Cordelia declared, pulling out a jar of slips of paper. “I thought a situation like this might occur, so I came up with a fun way of picking a name. We’re all going to write down names we like on these pieces of paper, and then Trin can pull one out at random and that’ll be the baby’s name!”

“What if I don’t like it?” Trina asked timidly. “I’m scared of what Marvin might contribute.”

“Well, you don’t have to use the first name you pull.” Delia supplied.

“Okay then. I think we should do it.” Trina glanced questioningly at Marvin, who shrugged indifferently.

“Whatever.”

“Alright, so everyone write down some names you like.” Cordelia began passing around the jar. For a moment, the group went silent but for the sound of pens on paper. Before long, each friend put their selections back into the jar. Once all the name suggestions had been returned to the jar, Cordelia replaced the lid and shook it to mix the papers up.

“Okay, are we ready? Trina, come pick out a name!” Trina covered her eyes and reached a hand into the jar, groping around for a moment before landing on a slip of paper and removing it from the jar. She slowly lowered her other hand from where it was covering her eyes and glanced at the slip. Smiling, she nodded.

“Marv, come see what name I picked.” Trina said, looking meaningfully towards Marvin. He groaned, but obliged. The rest of the friends looked on as the two considered the name Trina had selected. After a pause, they nodded. “I think we’ll announce the name with the birth announcement.” Trina explained.

“Fantastic! Well that means it’s time for the best part of this event, the photoshoot!” Whizzer announced. “Follow me, it’s my time to shine.

“Okay so we’re going to start with a pregnancy shoot and then we’ll do a shoot with the baby.” Whizzer explained as the group moved toward the back of his yard, into a space that he and Delia had put extra effort into decorating. There were pillows on the ground and balloons and confetti scattered around. “Okay Trin, Charlotte snuck this out of a maternity store for you, so you better wear this.”

With that, Charlotte held out a pregnancy belly cushion. “I literally committed a crime for you. Appreciate my efforts.” Charlotte laughed out. Trina joined her, tying the belly on and pulling it under her blouse.

“I guess it’s a good thing I wore a loose fitting top today!” Trina said, arranging herself on the pillows and posing for Whizzer. They took several photos of Trina alone, posing in ways that accentuated her unnaturally large bump. “I hope you know this is going to look ridiculous.”

“Excuse me, every photo I take looks incredibly serious and intense!” Whizzer exclaimed, faking offense. “These are going to be so beautiful I could literally turn them in to Mr. Rannells for a freelance photo project.”

“Whatever you say, Whiz.”

“Hey Marvin, how about you hop in there with Trin? That way we can have a family portrait!” Whizzer suggested.

“Is that really necessary?” Marvin whined, frowning toward his boyfriend.

“Come on, babe. Please?” Whizzer all but begged. Begrudgingly, Marvin joined Trina on a pillow, sitting as far from the girl as he could without falling off of the pillow. “Okay, Marv, now act like you like Trina.”

“Ugh.” Marvin groaned, gingerly putting an arm over Trina’s shoulder.

“Delia, will you help him please? It’s like he thinks she has cooties or something.” Whizzer called out, never looking up from his camera. Cordelia moved toward the pair, moving Marvin’s arms to look more natural and loving. “Thank you, Del. Now maybe a few with Mendel?”

The process was much easier for Mendel, who looked far more comfortable and loving toward Trina. Charlotte, Cordelia, and Whizzer gathered around the camera, cooing over the photos of the pair.

“Are we done now or?” Marvin asked, bored. The group looked over to where he stood, leaning against the fence, looking dejected.

“Uh yeah sure. I guess it’s time to make our actual child!” Trina jumped up, discarding the belly.

“Great! Well let’s go decorate a child!” Whizzer said, putting down his camera and leading the group back toward the house.

“You do realize how ridiculous you all sound, right?” Marvin pointed out, taking up the rear.

“Whatever, Marv! Why can’t you just enjoy how dumb it is?” Whizzer complained. “It’s supposed to be goofy, it’s a goddamn party for a flour baby! Maybe if you stopped trying to take everything so seriously you’d actually have fun for once!”

Silence fell over the group at the outburst.

“Uh, anyway. Let’s just make this fucking child.” Marvin growled, pushing through the crowd of his friends and picking up the bag of flour. “Now, what do I do with this thing? Draw some eyes on it?”

With that it seemed the tension had broken, and the friends crowded around a table covered in supplies. After twenty minutes of bickering about the pros and cons of duct tape versus masking tape and who was the best at drawing and should draw on the eyes, Trina and Marvin’s baby had been born.

“Is it weird that he kind of looks like Marvin?” Cordelia asked as they moved back toward their makeshift photoshoot set.

“Not really.” Charlotte said at the same time as Marvin said, “Yes.”

“Okay, Trina. Why don’t you sit down and we can take some pictures of just you and the baby?” Whizzer suggested as he began testing his camera settings and directing her posing. “Perfect. Now, Marvin. I know you don’t want to but _please_ just try not to look miserable and sit next to her. Maybe hold the baby? Great. Now Trin put your arm around him. Okay and the other arm under the baby. Fantastic.”

“Can I hop in there, Whiz?” Mendel asked, hovering next to Trina, just out of shot.

“Go for it, Mendel. Put Marvin out of his misery.” Whizzer encouraged, laughing as Marvin stuck out his tongue. Whizzer took pictures of each of the friends with the baby, alone and in groupings. “This is going to make such a cute scrapbook!”

“Looks like you kids are having quite the time out here, huh?” A deep voice suddenly called out from the back of the house.

“Oh, hi dad. I didn’t realize you were home.” Whizzer said, looking down in embarrassment. “Uh, we’re almost done.”

“Hey, bud, do you want me to take a picture of all of you together?” Whizzer’s dad suggested. Whizzer blushed.

“Yeah, sure, I guess.” Whizzer mumbled, glancing around at his friends. “Sorry guys, you don’t mind, right?”

“Of course not, Whiz! We’ll have a true family portrait this way!” Trina smiled.

The six friends arranged themselves in front of the fence, with Trina and Marvin in the middle holding the baby. After several clicks of the camera’s shutter, Marvin looked down at the sack of flour in his arms with a soft look on his face.

“Welcome to this crazy, wild, ridiculous, tight-knit family, Jason.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't ask me where any of that came from because i don't know. i spent d a y s working on the chardelia part and it never truly got to a point where i liked it but *shrugs*. the shit eating? one could say i... pulled that out of my ass. i also did NOT come up with the name Mr. Rannells blame the discord and my lack of creativity for that one. i hope the Tension in this chapter came through without me saying too much about it because... she's there.
> 
> anywaY it's nine pm i hope u enjoy this pls tell me things in the comments if u did or if there are any mistakes because editing? i don't know her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi my name is alison and i use too many modifiers. enjoy this one because it gave me hell.

“Charlotte DuBois! Tell me you’re not running for student body president!” Whizzer called out, spotting the girl from down the hall.

“Huh?” Charlotte replied, whipping around to see a frustrated Whizzer storming towards her. “What are you talking about?”

“Are you or are you not running for student body president?” Whizzer repeated as he loomed over her.

“I mean, I haven’t officially decided yet but yeah, I was thinking about running.” Charlotte said, unaffected by Whizzer’s withering glare.

“Don’t.” Whizzer warned. “I am begging you, don’t do this.”

“What? Why not? I’ll probably win and then you’ll have a connection to the student council. Don’t you want to give me all your homecoming ideas?” Charlotte asked, suspicious.

“I just…” Whizzer sighed. “No, that’s not it. Just please don’t run, okay?”

“Um, okay, I guess.” Charlotte resigned. “I still don’t understand what your hesitation is but I’ll take it into consideration.”

“Okay, good.” Whizzer said, looking distracted. “I’ll see you at lunch then.”

With that, he stalked off to his next class, leaving Charlotte very confused and concerned. After a moment of wondering what exactly the conversation she’d just been a part of had been about, Charlotte turned on her heel and headed toward the school office.

It wasn’t that Charlotte wanted to go against Whizzer’s wishes. In fact, she desperately wanted to please everyone. But she was determined to put herself first this year, and if that meant ignoring Whizzer’s warning, she was going to do it.

“Good morning, Ms. Martin.” Charlotte said as she pulled open the door to the office. “I would like the application for student body president, please.”

* * *

 

Charlotte was feeling uneasy as she approached her usual lunch table. Whizzer and Marvin were already seated, and they appeared to be talking about something serious. Charlotte hesitated and glanced over her shoulder towards Cordelia, who gave her a questioning look.

“Everything okay?” Cordelia asked, putting a hand gently on Charlotte’s arm.

“Huh? Oh yeah, of course.” Charlotte shook out her nerves and sat down across from the two boys.

“Hey Char, Delia!” Marvin said, smiling over at the girls.

“Hi Marv.” Charlotte grinned toward her friend before looking more tentatively toward Whizzer. “Hey, Whizzer.”

Whizzer just glared threateningly at her.

“I saw you in the office earlier, Char.” Whizzer accused.

“Yeah, I had to ask Ms. Martin about student government forms.” Charlotte stated innocently, looking across the table at Whizzer with wide eyes.

“Oh, you’re running?” Marvin asked, sounding dejected.

“Well, yeah, I was considering it. I’m still not entirely sure if I’ll run, but I’m considering presidency.” Charlotte explained.

“Great, well, I’m happy for you.” Marvin smiled tightly across the table. “I was also going to run, but you’d be better for it, so good luck.”

“Wait, so you’re just not going to run then?” Whizzer exclaimed in outrage, earning the group looks from the tables surrounding theirs.

“I mean, Charlotte is obviously the better choice. Plus she has the POC vote, the lesbian vote, _and_ the feminist vote, so I don’t see how I have a chance against her.” Marvin sighed. “I really am happy for you, Char. I’d vote for you over me any day.”

“No, no, no, this is not okay! You’ve been planning on this since freshman year!” Whizzer yelled out. “I’m sorry, Charlotte, but Marvin deserves this!”

“Hey, no. I’ll have other opportunities. We need a lesbian of color as president, especially given who’s the president of our country right now. Char’s the president we need this year.” Marvin nodded, as if trying to convince himself.

“I can’t believe you’re giving this up so easily!” Whizzer cried, shaking his head.

“Well, as thrilling as this has been, Charlie and I will just leave you two alone for a bit. I think we all need some time to cool off.” Delia piped up, grabbing Charlotte’s arm and pulling her away from the table. Turning around, the two girls spotted Mendel and Trina, who had been watching the argument from a few feet away with uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Silently, the four came to agreement and turned toward the exit of the cafeteria.

“I cannot believe that girl!” Whizzer fumed. “Even after I talked to her this morning, I swear to God.”

“After what?” Marvin questioned, eyebrows raised.

“After I cornered her in the hall between first and second and threatened her if she even thought about running.” Whizzer explained.

“God you’re pretty.”

“What now?” Whizzer’s head snapped up toward Marvin at the admission.

“You’re so hot when you’re defending me.” Marvin explained with a shrug.

“Okay, weirdo.” Whizzer laughed slightly, shaking his head.

* * *

 

Mid-September brought a flurry of activity to the six friends. Marvin and Trina were still lugging Flour Sack Jason from class to class, alternating who took care of him at night. Cordelia and Trina found themselves working through their breaks at the diner in order to finish all of the homework they’d been assigned each night. Student Government elections had picked up, and Charlotte was in full campaign mode, with Marvin standing loyally by her side.

It was a Wednesday evening when Charlotte decided that senior year would be the death of her. The group was sitting in Delia’s living room, attempting to study and finish up homework. Trina and Delia had brought extra pastries from the diner, and very little attention was being paid towards schoolwork.

“I am ready for death.” Charlotte announced as she glanced down at her planner. “I still have to prep for the calc test, an anatomy quiz, and do the reading for English tomorrow.”

“Don’t forget the campaign rally tomorrow afternoon.” Marvin piped up from where he was working on a poster at the table.

“God, that’s right. I’d completely forgotten.” Charlotte moaned. “Good thing I wrote my speech weeks ago.”

“I’m sure you’ll be amazing.” Marvin assured her.

“I still really can’t believe you’re so willing to let this go.” Whizzer commented from where he was sitting on the couch, working on pre-calc homework with Mendel. “I mean, it’s our senior year. You’ve been talking about running for student body president since freshman year, and suddenly you just give it up to Char?”

“Whizzer…” Marvin sighed. “It’s not that easy. Of course I would love to run, but Charlotte deserves this. I trust her, and I know that she’d be more effective than I could ever dream of being. I don’t need to run. I would rather support Char and see her win than get in the way of her winning and see some dumbass like Dennis Coleman win.”

“Whatever, it’s just not what I expected from you.” Whizzer rolled his eyes.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Marvin asked darkly.

“Nothing, nothing. I just expect more out of you. Y’know, because you’re so smart and good at everything and everyone loves you. I just didn’t expect you to give in.” The room went quiet as Whizzer said this, everyone sensing the tension between the two boys.

“Really.” Marvin nearly growled.

“Hey! How about we head on out now, given that none of us seem to be getting much work done as it is.” Trina suggested, butting into the conversation and shooting pointed looks toward Whizzer and Marvin.

“Yeah, my parents will be home soon and they probably wouldn’t be too happy to see that I had my friends over so late.” Delia added on.

With that, the friends began quietly gathering their stuff, carefully keeping Marvin and Whizzer on opposite sides of the room. Once everyone had collected their things, Delia gently herded them out the door.

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow!” She called out from the doorway as her friends walked out to their various vehicles.

Charlotte was the last one out the door, but before she could get very far, Cordelia grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her into a hug. “You didn’t think I’d let you leave without a proper goodbye, did you?” Delia mumbled into Charlotte’s hair. The other girl giggled, hugging her tight.

“I really should get going, though.” Charlotte sighed, pulling back, but not out of Delia’s arms. Delia pouted, but pressed a kiss against her cheek and pulled away.

“Good night, Charlie. I’ll see you in the morning.” Charlotte waved as she walked down towards her car, blowing a kiss as she slid into the front seat.

“I love you!” She yelled through the open window. And then she was off.

* * *

 

The next day was hectic for Charlotte. She found herself racing around the halls before class started, hanging up posters covered with cheesy slogans and blown up pictures of her. Marvin and Delia were helping, but the help didn’t bring her stress levels down much. By mid-afternoon, Charlotte was an anxious wreck.

The campaign rally was being held in the theater, and all six friends gathered in the green room to wish Charlotte luck on her speech.

“You’re going to kill it, Char.” Trina assured her from the corner where she was sitting with Flour Baby Jason.

“She’s right, you’re so prepared, you’ll be amazing.” Mendel agreed.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you have my vote.” Whizzer said reluctantly, glancing over at Marvin, who smiled.

“You’ve got this, Sunshine.” Delia promised from her perch on Charlotte’s lap, laying her head on top of the other girl’s.

“As meaningful as all of those words of encouragement were, I would just like to say,” Marvin added in, “I wouldn’t have dropped out of this race for just anyone. You _know_ you’re the right girl for the job. Now you just have to go out there and convince them.”

“Thank you, Marv.” Charlotte reached out, squeezing the boy’s arm. “And thank you, all of you. It really means a lot that you’re all so supportive. I would probably be in the bathroom panicking right now if it weren’t for you.”

“That’s what we’re here for.” Delia said. “And now, my dear, it is time for you to go kill it and get the whole school on your side. We’ll be right there in the front row cheering you on.”

With a chorus of _good luck!_ ’s, the group filed out of the room to join the school in the audience, leaving Charlotte alone.

It wasn’t long before the principal, Mr. Finn, was calling the two candidates onto the stage.

“First up, we have Mr. Dennis Coleman!” Mr. Finn announced. Dennis, the football star and certified idiot, stepped up to the podium to deliver his campaign promise.

“Well, my name is Dennis and I love football. So I wanna make it mandatory that everyone goes to every football game!” At this, all of Dennis’ friends whooped and cheered. The rest of the school groaned. “And, uh, make lunch 15 minutes longer, and make it so that teachers can’t give homework on Mondays, Wednesdays, or Fridays because it interferes with practice. Thanks guys! Vote Dennis!”

As the boy stepped down from the podium, the jocks once again shot up in cheers, and smattering of applause resounded from the rest of the students.

“Well, that was certainly something. Next, we have Ms. Charlotte DuBois!” Mr. Finn said, a slightly pained look on his face.

Charlotte took in a deep breath and stepped towards the podium.

“Hi. My name is Charlotte, and I would like to represent you for the next year. I’ve been in student government since freshman year, and I have seen three straight, white boys be in charge. In all honesty, not much got accomplished in those three years. And, well, look at me. I’m not straight, nor am I white, nor male. So maybe it’s only one of those things that made our previous presidents ineffective, or maybe it was all of them. Either way, there’s only one way to find out. You could vote for Dennis, and see if any of those absurd things he just promised are actually achieved. Or, you could vote for me. If I were elected, I would establish a school funded diversity team. I want to create a safe place for my fellow LGBT+ students and students of color and students with disabilities. I would make sure that the arts got more funding this year than any of the last three years. And I would work with the school board and the PTA to make this campus more environmentally friendly. If any of those issues speak to you, I ask that you vote for me. I will try my best to represent the Lincoln High School student body as best as I can. Thank you.”

The auditorium went silent. And then, a wave of cheers crashed over Charlotte, and she was crying.

* * *

 

The week following Charlotte’s campaign speech was tense. Everyone was deep into schoolwork, and Charlotte would not stop fretting about the election. By election day, the whole group was glad the agony would finally be over.

“You know I want you to win, but at this point I don’t care what the result is. I just want my Charlie back.” Delia complained to Charlotte during lunch the day of.

“Wow, thanks for the support.” Charlotte bit back.

“What, I, no!” Delia stuttered out, caught off guard by Charlotte’s nasty tone.

“Hey, girls. Let’s not talk about it anymore, okay? We vote next period, results will be announced by the end of the day. There’s no use in arguing about it, there’s nothing more we can do.” Marvin butted in, trying to calm the situation.

“Huh. Never did I think Marvin would be the voice of reason in this situation.” Trina commented. Marvin just rolled his eyes.

The rest of the lunch period passed by, relatively uneventful. It wasn’t until the group began walking toward the gym, where voting would take place for the entirety of fifth period, when Delia noticed that Charlotte was shaking.

“Hey, you know everything is going to be okay, right?” Delia assured the other girl, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers together. “And I wasn’t trying to be unsupportive earlier, I just miss you. You’ve been so busy lately.”

“I know,” Charlotte sighed. “I miss you too. I’m so grateful I’ve had you with me during this whole ordeal. Thank you for keeping me grounded.”

Delia smiled and pressed a kiss to Charlotte’s cheek as they entered the gym.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

The voting process didn’t take long, and before they knew it, the group had reconvened on the bleachers, and was trying desperately to keep Charlotte’s mind off of the election. Over the course of 45 minutes she had proceeded to ask each of them if they had voted for her no less that 10 times.

At long last, the bell rang signaling the end of the class period, and they all headed off.

It was the middle of sixth period when Mr. Finn’s voice crackled out from the PA system.

“Attention Lincoln High School students! We officially have results for your student body representatives for the school year of 2017-2018! Your secretary is Hannah Dryer! Your treasurer is Rory Green! Your vice president is Maya Donaldson! And your student body president is…”

The collective school sucked in a breath.

“Charlotte DuBois!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so this really was a struggle tm. sorry it took so long to get to you, i just could not make myself write.
> 
> i actually wrote the first ~500 words about two weeks ago and then just sat down now to write the last ~2000. so if it seems jumbled n shit that's why.
> 
> it's also unedited but so is everything i ever post. why would this be any different?
> 
> ALSO!!!! i made a thing which is wevealmostsurvivedtheyear.tumblr.com
> 
> see u soon for chap 4 maybe!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey y'all here's yet another charlotte-centered chapter!!! sorry not sorry!!!! char is my girl!!!!! fight me!!!!!
> 
> ok pals hope u like this sorry it took so long.
> 
> unedited as always so let me know if u find any mistakes

Although none of the Tight Knit Family was on the football team nor did they enjoy watching the sport, they found themselves attending nearly every home game in the season to support Delia and Mendel, who were on the cheerleading squad.

Three weeks before Homecoming, Trina, Whizzer, Charlotte, and Marvin (who was reluctantly carrying Flour Baby Jason) filed into the bleachers late on a Friday afternoon. They found seats and settled in to pay little attention to the actual game, choosing to chat and try to get the attention of Delia and Mendel instead.

The first half of the game passed slowly, and by halftime Lincoln was losing and the friends were tired and bored. As halftime was called and the cheerleaders streamed onto the field, the group perked up, waving at their friends and cheering as the routine started.

Having been to several games this season, the routine was familiar, and both Charlotte and Trina noticed that something was different this time. The two girls looked over at each other as they watched Delia and Mendel run off toward the sideline toward the end of the routine.

Suddenly, Mendel and Delia were gesturing that Trina and Charlotte come down onto the field. Sharing a confused look, the girls complied, allowing themselves to be led down into the chaos of the cheer routine.

As the routine came to an end, Charlotte and Trina found themselves standing in the middle of a heart-shaped pose, with Delia and Mendel standing in front of them holding microphones.

“Oh, no.” Charlotte muttered, eyes wide as she stared at Delia.

“Oh, yes.” Delia replied, winking before lifting the mic to her lips. “Charlotte DuBois, will you go to Homecoming with me?”

Charlotte was rendered momentarily speechless (and deaf, as she didn’t register Mendel asking the same of Trina next to her), but nodded slowly.

“Is that a yes?” Delia confirmed, lowering the microphone and stepping closer to Charlotte.

“Oh, um, yes.” Charlotte was shaken out of her stupor. “Yes, of course.”

“Good.” Delia’s face split into a wide smile, and she threw her arms around her friend, hugging her tight. Charlotte, still not entirely aware of her surroundings, buried her face into Cordelia’s neck, wrapping her arms around the other girl’s waist.

Suddenly, Delia pulled away, and Charlotte was thrown back into reality. She was standing on a football field with her best friend, who had just publicly asked her to Homecoming. With a full blown cheerleading routine, no less. And the lights were beating down on her face, and the crowd was cheering.

She was overwhelmed to say the least.

Charlotte barely realized she was being escorted back to the bleachers, where Marvin and Whizzer congratulated her and Trina, and then the game resumed. The remainder of the game passed by in a blur, and Charlotte was clearly lost in thought. The team lost, but she barely even noticed. Not like she would have cared either way.

* * *

 

“Remind me why you’re dragging me out of the house at 9 am on a Saturday?” Charlotte whined as she was pulled from her house and into Delia’s car where Trina and Whizzer sat waiting.

“Dress shopping! For Hoco!” Delia cried out in excitement. Charlotte just sighed.

“C’mon, babe. I know you never get dressed up, but you _have_ to have a dress for Homecoming. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.” Whizzer said in an attempt at reassurance, leaning forward in his seat to rest his head on Charlotte’s shoulder.

“Plus you and Delia are going together so you have to wear something complimentary.” Trina pointed out. “I’m so excited! This is going to be so much fun!”

Charlotte dropped her back against the headrest in resignation. “I can’t believe you’re forcing me to do this. Let’s just get it over with.”

The remainder of the car ride to the mall was filled with rolled down windows, loud pop music, and happy chatter. While she appreciated her friends’ joy, it was not how Charlotte would have like to spend her morning.

At long last, Delia pulled into a parking space, and Charlotte leapt from her spot in the front seat.

“Antsy, much?” Whizzer laughed as he climbed out from the seat behind her.

“Hey, the sooner we get going the sooner this will be over with and I can get back to my beloved bed.” Charlotte defended, crossing her arms and pouting slightly. Whizzer just laughed and wrapped an arm around her, leading the girls into the mall.

To Charlotte’s dismay, the dress-buying process was neither fast nor easy. Trina and Whizzer insisted the girls visit every store and find dresses they liked before anyone could choose a dress and actually try anything on. After an hour of being pulled from store to store, Charlotte was ready to go, sans dress.

“Okay! Now that we know our options, let’s go try some dresses on!” Trina exclaimed, clapping her hands and turning in the direction of the first store.

“Now, the real question here is, _do I even need to wear a dress_?” Charlotte questioned as she was pulled into the shop.

“Yes!” The three friends cried out in unison.

“Char, you can have your hot Madonna pantsuit moment at prom, but for homecoming, a dress is required.” Whizzer said with a borderline threatening tone.

“Oookay, I don’t know about that, but I really think you should wear a dress.” Delia interjected, looking across at Whizzer as if he was insane. “It’s only semi formal so you can wear something simple, but you would look so cute in a dress, and we get to match! Please do this? For me?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe you’re begging me to wear a dress right now.” Charlotte groaned in exasperation. “Why can’t I just show up in sweats and a t-shirt?”

“Now that would be unacceptable.” Whizzer cut in. “You are the student body president. If you’re going to show up to school events, which you should, you have to fully participate.”

“Oh shit, that’s right.” A look of realization crossed Charlotte’s face. “I guess I kind of have an image to protect now, don’t I?”

“Yeah, you do. I can only do so much damage control, and there’s nothing that will fix you showing up to homecoming in sweats.” Whizzer advised with a knowing look.

“Yeah right, as if I need you to preserve my reputation. I got elected didn’t I?” Charlotte asked, clearly annoyed. “Whatever, I’ll wear a god damn dress. Now can we please just do this and leave?”

With that, she marched inside.

Despite her resignation, Charlotte allowed Trina, Whizzer, and Cordelia to pick out dress after dress for her to try on. She _ooh_ ed and _ahh_ ed as Trina and Delia strutted around in shop after shop, trying on a variety of dresses.

With each dress Charlotte herself tried on, she grew more and more resentful and uninterested. By the time she tried on a simple, pale pink dress she was thoroughly bored. Without even a glance in the mirror, she stomped out of the dressing room and into the shop to show her friends.

Even though the gathered friends had fawned over each dress Charlotte had tried on, she was not expecting much. However, as she pulled away the curtain separating the small dressing room from the rest of the shop, the three friends went silent.

“Oh… my god.” Whizzer finally broke the silence. “Charlotte DuBois, you are so gorgeous.”

“You’re buying that dress right now.” Trina added. “No ifs, ands, or buts. That is the dress for you.”

Charlotte smiled slightly for the first time that day. She twirled slowly at Whizzer’s command, admiring the way the fabric floated gently around her legs. After being admired by Trina and Whizzer for a few moments, Charlotte glanced over at Cordelia.

Cordelia, who appeared ready to faint.

“Del? You okay?” Charlotte asked, concerned.

“Huh?” Charlotte’s words seemed to shake Delia out of her trance. “Yeah, of course! No, I just. You’re just…”

Suddenly Delia was blushing violently under the eyes of her three friends.

“So hot.” At these words, Whizzer and Trina burst into laughter, leading Charlotte’s eyes to widen and Delia’s cheeks to burn even darker.

“Oh my god, Cordelia. Keep it in your pants!” Whizzer cried out, only embarrassing the two girls further.

With Charlotte’s dress decided, Trina and Delia hurried to make their final decisions and the three girls purchased their dresses. Trina had found a stunning satin wine red dress with a plunging neckline that Whizzer was sure would make Mendel fall over, and Delia had settled on an off-the-shoulder gown with a tulle skirt and intricate stoning on the bodice in a similar color to Charlotte’s.

Charlotte was relieved to climb back into Delia’s car at the end of their excursion. While the day hadn’t turned out to be too agonizing, she was exhausted and her feet were aching. Shopping was exhausting.

* * *

 

The week of Homecoming meant festivities such as spirit week and a rally and parade that none of the friends were terribly interested in. Trina participated in spirit week religiously, but complained about it the entire time. Charlotte was required to speak at the rally and ride in the student council float in the parade, but she was not enthusiastic about either event.

The entire week was just a build up to the dance. As the day approached, Trina, Whizzer, Delia, and Mendel got more and more excited, and Marvin and Charlotte got more and more tired of hearing about their friends’ excitement.

Whizzer and Cordelia had decided to run for Homecoming King and Queen together, which meant spending the week campaigning.

“We just figured, it’s our senior year, why not do something ridiculous?” Whizzer had laughed as the two told the group their plan.

“We know we aren’t going to win-“

“You’re the only people who will vote for us-“

“But it’s fun! We just want to goof off and take advantage of our last year.”

“It’s such a senior year thing, I mean, only seniors can run, it’s just a fun thing.”

“Yeah, we get it guys.” Trina said, seemingly put out that the two had decided to run and were challenging her (unofficial) position as the friend with the most school spirit.

“You realize this will just perpetuate, not only the idea that you’re straight, but the rumor that you’re dating. Each other.” Charlotte nearly whined.

“That’s part of the fun, Charlie!” Delia laughed out, leaning against her best friend. “Oh, come on. Don’t pout. You know I’ll always love you most.”

“Ugh, whatever. Go parade your heterosexuality.” Charlotte rolled her eyes, shoving Delia away playfully.

At long last, the day arrived. Trina had insisted that Delia and Charlotte stay the night on Friday so that the girls could spend all of Saturday prepping for the dance. Charlotte found this pretty ridiculous, considering the dance wasn’t until 8, but she didn’t dare argue.

Saturday morning found the girls sitting around Trina’s kitchen table, eating pancakes and chattering happily.

“I just love dances, you know? I’ve been to Homecoming every year, and it’s always so fun.” Trina was rambling on. Delia hummed in agreement.

Charlotte knew she should have been paying more attention to the conversation, but it was so hard to focus when Delia was sitting there, daintily eating away at her pancake, and there was a drip of syrup sticking to her lip, and all Charlotte really wanted to do was to lean over and kiss the sugar away…

“Char? Everything okay?” And suddenly those lips were moving, saying her name, and Charlotte was incredibly aware of the fact that she was staring at her best friends’ mouth. In front of their mutual friend. And said friend’s parents.

“Ha!” An uncomfortable laugh escaped Charlotte’s mouth. “Yeah! Totally fine. Just didn’t get enough sleep last night,” she frantically attempted to explain the situation away.

“Sure…” Trina narrowed her eyes in suspicion at Charlotte’s guilty assurance.

To Charlotte’s dismay, the day continued in a similar fashion. While Trina and Delia painted each others’ nails (and forced Charlotte to have hers painted as well), applied face masks, and gossiped, all Charlotte could focus on was how Delia’s eyes crinkled when she laughed and how she bit her lower lip when she was focused.

At four pm, Whizzer, Marvin, and Mendel showed up to get ready all together and eat pizza with the girls. Charlotte was incredibly jealous as she saw that Marvin and Mendel were both dressed fully already in slacks and button downs.

Whizzer had rolled his eyes at Trina and Delia’s concerns over the boys eating in their semi-formal getups.

“What does it matter, they’re just going to spill punch on themselves at the dance anyway.” He had said, sticking his tongue out at Marvin, who had dug an elbow into Whizzer’s ribs in protest. “You know it’s true, babe. You’re a slob.”

“Whatever. I’m going to go order pizza.” Marvin said, marching out of Trina’s room.

“So, Charlotte. How are you going to do your hair?” Whizzer asked, petting the girl’s curls.

“I was just going to leave it like this.” Charlotte gestured to the cloud of curls around her head.

“Really? You’re not even going to wear a headband or anything?” Whizzer asked incredulously.

“Oooh, Charlie! You should let me braid it!” Delia chimed in.

“Hahahaha, I don’t think so, Del. I don’t even like braiding my own hair.” Charlotte wrinkled her nose up at the suggestion. “No offense, but it’s easier if I just let it do its own thing.”

“Please? Can I at least try?” Delia began to beg, batting her big blue eyes. “Please, babe?”

“Ugh, fine.” Charlotte finally broke down. “You can try. But I reserve the right to stop you at any time.

“Yay!” Delia clapped her hands in excitement. “Okay, hold on.” She sat back on Trina’s bed, and gestured toward her lap. “Lay down, put your head here. And tell me if I’m hurting you.”

Charlotte lay in Delia’s lap, letting the other girl gently pull at her hair. They sat there for twenty minutes, Delia gently twisting and weaving Charlotte’s hair into an intricate up-do. Although she wanted to protest, Charlotte found her eyes falling shut as she relaxed into Delia’s deft hands, occasionally massaging her scalp as she braided.

“Okay, Char. I’m all done.” Delia whispered softly, admiring her work. Charlotte sat up, moving to stand in front of Trina’s full-length mirror. On top of her head was an intricately textured crown of a braid.

“Whoa.” Charlotte murmured as she admired her reflection. “It’s…”

“Beautiful.” Whizzer smiled.

“Stunning.” Trina added.

“Perfect.” Charlotte grinned, turning to embrace Delia in thanks. As she wrapped her arms around her friend’s waist, she quickly pressed a kiss against the corner of the girl’s mouth. It was over faster than it had begun, but the damage was done. Delia recoiled, and Whizzer gasped.

“I, uh. I should go check on Marv! And the, uh. The pizza!” Charlotte exclaimed, desperate to get out of Trina’s tiny bedroom, that seemed to be shrinking with each breath she took. “Yeah, I’m gonna go.”

With that, she ran out of the room.

“Okay.” Whizzer said, collecting his thoughts. “Trina, Mendel, why don’t you two, just. Leave. For a second. I need to talk to Cordelia for a moment.”

Trina and Mendel, who had not seen the exchange between the two girls, looked wildly confused as Whizzer shoved them out of Trina’s room.

“Cordelia McCoy. We need to talk.” Whizzer turned to look at the girl, sitting on the end of the bed, looking small and confused.

“Whiz…” Delia started but trailed off as she dropped her head into her hands.

“You’re dating Charlotte?!” It was both a question and a statement.

“I, uh.” Delia’s eyes went wide, and she began shaking her head no. “We’re not, well. I mean.”

“Okay, let me rephrase.” Whizzer said, noting Delia’s visible confusion. “You are dating Charlotte.”

“No!” Delia finally found her voice. “No, we’re not dating. We’re just… friends. Really good friends.”

“Okay. So you’re not dating Charlotte.” Whizzer said, one eyebrow raised. “You just hang out all the time and hold hands and kiss, apparently. But you’re just best buddies.”

“Uh. Yeah?” Delia’s voice was shrill.

“Okay. Cool. Good to know.” Whizzer glared at Delia. “You’re dating Charlotte.”

And then, he turned, threw open the door, and strutted off to find his friends.

* * *

 

Dinner was an uncomfortable affair. Charlotte and Delia couldn’t look at each other. Marvin was oblivious. Mendel and Trina knew they had missed something, but couldn’t get an answer from anyone. Whizzer just looked smug.

“So.” Whizzer broke the silence as he cut his slice of pineapple pizza into small pieces.

“Ugh, I can’t believe you like that shit.” Marvin said, looking over at Whizzer’s pizza in disgust. “How can you enjoy fruit on pizza?”

“Yeah, Whiz. It’s pretty nasty.” Trina added, looking over in disdain.

“Excuse me! It’s just pizza.” Whizzer said, pointedly taking a bite.

“Disgusting pizza.” Charlotte piped up.

“Really, it’s gross, Whiz.” Delia supplied.

“The pineapple gets all mushy and weird. Not fun.” Mendel agreed, looking around at his friends for approval.

“Okay, okay. I get it. It’s _be mean to Whizzer_ day. But why can’t you let me eat my goddamn pizza in peace?” Whizzer exclaimed in faux outrage.

“Whatever, Whiz. Just admit that you don’t have as good of taste as you think you do.” Marvin said smugly.

“Says you, Mr. Pizza Sauce on Shirt.” Whizzer snorted in response, causing the whole table to dissolve into giggles.

With that the air of awkwardness evaporated, allowing the group to enjoy the last steps of getting ready. Trina and Delia painted makeup onto their faces, drawing out winged eyeliner and carefully filling in their lips with color and gluing extensions to their eyelashes. When they were satisfied, they turned to accost Charlotte, who allowed them to do subtle eye shadow and blush.

At long last, the girls slid into their dresses, sheaths of tulle and satin. Once all six of them were dressed, bowties tied and zippers zipped, it was time for pictures. Trina’s parents insisted on getting photos of Trina and Mendel first, leaving Marvin and Whizzer in the living room, and Charlotte and Delia found themselves alone in Trina’s room.

Delia’s dress was truly stunning, with delicate stoning along the bodice, creating a floral pattern. The dress laced up in the back, and Charlotte volunteered to lace it up for her.

“Let me know if it’s too tight,” Charlotte said softly as she began to tighten the dress. Delia smiled softly, humming in response.

“That’s good.” Delia said quietly. Charlotte tied the ribbons into a secure bow, allowing her hands to linger along the other girl’s waist. She tucked a loose strand of hair into the curly blonde bun atop Delia’s head. “Thanks.”

Delia turned around to face Charlotte. Neither girl knew who moved first, but suddenly they were kissing. It was soft and warm and gentle and they never wanted to stop.

Too soon, there was a knock on Trina’s door. “Hey, you two!” Whizzers voice floated through the wood. “Time for pictures.”

Reluctantly, the girls pulled apart, sharing a meaningful look before heading outside for photos.

The group was gathered in Trina’s backyard. Trina and Mendel were standing, looking slightly uncomfortable, in a traditional “prom photo” pose, smiling tightly toward Trina’s mom, who was clicking away with her camera, cooing over how “adorable” her daughter was.

Whizzer was visibly frustrated at Mrs. Houser’s photography skills.

When Trina and Mendel had finally taken enough photos, the six friends gathered together for a group shot. Arms were slung over shoulders and around waists, and the smiles were genuine. As Charlotte looked around at her friends, she was happy that she’d been coerced into this. She wouldn’t trade it for the world.

That mentality only lasted until the group actually arrived at the dance. Held in the Lincoln High gym, it was crowded, noisy, and warm. Although Charlotte’s dress was short, it still felt suffocating.

“Come on, Char! Let’s dance!” Delia exclaimed as they made it inside, grabbing the girl’s hand and pulling her onto the makeshift dance floor.

Charlotte had to give it to the leadership class, the gym was unrecognizable. Of course, it was also very dark, the only light coming from colorful flashing spotlights and black lights scattered rather scarcely around the gym. Balloons were floating above their heads, ribbons dangling down from the vaulted ceiling. A DJ of sorts was situated at one end of the room, although it seemed to be a parent manning an iPod, so Charlotte was doubtful that the music would be all that great.

It occurred to her, after making these observations that she was standing in the middle of the dance floor, motionless. So she turned to Delia and started to dance.

For hours, the six friends stood on the dance floor, belting out lyrics to sugary pop songs, swaying and bouncing, sweating, and laughing. After a while, Charlotte’s feet were hurting and she was in desperate need of something to drink. She yelled over the music to her friends, grabbed Delia’s hand, and ran off the dance floor.

In one corner of the gym there was a table piled with cookies, sodas, and bottles of water. Charlotte grabbed a bottle gratefully, chugging half of it in one go.

“Having fun?” Delia asked, taking the bottle from Charlotte and taking a few sips of her own.

“Mmmh.” Charlotte hummed. “More than I thought I would. Someone keeps stepping on my feet, though.”

“Ah, darn that Mendel.” Delia laughed. The two girls stood next to the refreshment table for a few moments in comfortable silence.

“You know, I’m really glad I came.” Charlotte volunteered after a while.

“You are?” Delia looked hopeful. Charlotte nodded. “Good. I’m glad.”

“Thank you.” Charlotte said, looking at Delia meaningfully. “For asking me, that is.”

“Of course. There’s no one I’d rather be here with.”

“Me too.”

At this, the song changed. Charlotte glanced over at Delia, before offering her hand.

“Wanna dance?” Delia nodded slightly, taking Charlotte’s hand.

Charlotte’s hands found Delia’s waist, and Delia wrapped her arms around Charlotte’s neck. The two swayed, alone the corner, needing nothing but the company of one another.

As the song came to an end, the girls separated slowly, reluctantly, and began searching for their friends once again.

“Okay, Lincoln High School! It’s time to announce Homecoming Court!” The DJ’s voice boomed over the speakers. The crowd cheered. “We’ll start with freshmen prince and princess! Our freshmen prince and princess are… Dylan Gray and Hattie Hancock!”

As the two freshmen proudly marched onto the stage, feeble applause went up from the freshmen in attendance.

“Let’s give them a round of applause!” The DJ encouraged as upper classmen placed plastic crowns on their heads. His words did not inspire any more cheering. “Next up, our sophomore prince and princess are… Max Ho and Cassidy Johnson!”

Slightly louder applause could be heard from the sophomores in the audience as Max and Cassidy walked on stage to be crowned.

“Great. Juniors! Our junior prince and princess…” The DJ seemed to be losing gusto as he felt the lack of enthusiasm from the audience. “Carter Wade and Lucy David!”

A huge surge of applause went up as the two juniors were crowned.

“Yeah, that’s the enthusiasm I like to see!” The DJ called out. “Now, seniors! Let’s hear it for our senior class Homecoming king and queen, W-Winston? Winston Brown and Cordelia McCoy!”

The entire audience burst into laughter, and Whizzer charged on stage, pulling Delia along with him.

“Well, I’m honored to be your Homecoming king, but I would like to say, it’s _Whizzer_ , not Winston, Mr. DJ at a high school dance.” Whizzer said, smiling sardonically at the DJ, who looked very embarrassed.

The crowd cheered, clapping and shouting as Delia and Whizzer were crowned. Whizzer, holding onto the plastic crown, took a deep bow and Delia curtsied, blowing a kiss toward Charlotte.

“Now, let’s dance!” Whizzer yelled into the microphone, jumping off the stage and into a cheering crowd.

The remainder of the dance passed in a blur. By midnight, the group was exhausted, and followed the crowd of students as they streamed out of the gym and into the student parking lot.

“So! Where are we going now?” Whizzer asked, grinning. “I’m still on a high from winning. Let’s get burgers or something.”

“Whoa there, seems like somebody slipped something into your punch.” Marvin joked. “How about we get you home.”

“Noooo, you buzz kill.” Whizzer complained, though he was visibly crashing.

The group climbed into Mendel’s minivan, and headed off.

“Hey, Mend, can you drop me and Delia at my house?” Charlotte asked as they pulled out of the parking lot.

“Sure thing, we’ll go there first.”

It was only a five-minute drive to Charlotte’s home, and the two girls quickly clambered out of the van and waved goodbye to their friends as the van sped away.

“Come on, we need to talk.” Charlotte said, pulling Delia close. The other girl smiled slightly, before pressing in for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok i wanna say that i am not black and don't know much about black hair SO if there are any inaccuracies about char's hair i am s o r r y i did my best. 
> 
> the pineapple pizza is for james. hope you're happy. pineapple pizza is disgusting.
> 
> this chap puts us over the 10k word mark!! thank u all for reading, commenting, bookmarking and leaving kudos. it helps me stay inspired to write and i love u for it.
> 
> follow wevealmostsurvivedtheyear.tumblr.com for more <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A post-homecoming interlude.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... it's been almost a year since I started writing this. sorry i've been gone so long. have this fluff to make up for it.

Soft, early morning light filtered in through the thin, white curtains adorning the windows of Charlotte’s bedroom. It cast a warm glow over the two bodies curled together in her bed, sleeping blissfully. It wasn’t long before the owner of the room began to stir, eyes slowly blinking open, to the sight of her best friend beneath her. Charlotte reveled in the warmth of the body underneath her own, the arms wrapped around her shoulders, the warm breath softly hitting her hair. She shifted slightly, careful not to wake the other girl, in order to see Cordelia’s face better.

The girl’s face was softened with sleep. Eyelashes fanned over her cheekbones, and her hair formed a golden halo around her head. Charlotte thought she must be an angel, the most beautiful thing she had ever laid eyes on.

Despite Charlotte’s efforts, Cordelia soon began to stir. Blue eyes slowly blinked open to meet brown, and twin smiles spread across both girl’s faces.

“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” Charlotte voiced her earlier thoughts. Cordelia hummed out a laugh, clearly still half asleep.

“You haven’t seen yourself.” She replied softly. Charlotte rolled her eyes, laying her head down on the other girl’s chest.

“I never want to get up.”

It felt like hours that the girls lay there in Charlotte’s bed. Deft fingers threaded through thick curls, breathy whispers were exchanged, hands clasped together, and chapped lips met soft ones. Charlotte believed that she could stay here, held tight in her best friend’s arms, and she would be content. No need for food or drink, she would live off kisses and Cordelia’s heartbeat beneath her ear.

It soon became clear that Cordelia, however, could not. Her stomach let out a quiet growl, sending both girls into a fit of giggles.

“I think my body is telling me to eat.” She sighed, attempting to rise into a sitting position without letting go of Charlotte.

“Mm, no. Stay here.” Charlotte grumbled, arms wrapped tight around the other girl’s middle from behind, creating significant resistance for the other girl’s effort to get out of the bed. 

Cordelia finally managed to slip out of the bed, turning around in Charlotte’s arms to face the other girl. “Come on, we’ll be quick. You must be hungry too.” Charlotte pouted, and Cordelia was quick to kiss the expression away. Placated, Charlotte climbed out of bed and joined the other in her search for sustenance.

When the girls reached Charlotte’s kitchen, the sight of Mr. and Mrs. DuBois sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and reading newspapers, greeted them.

“Morning, honey!” Charlotte’s mother chirped as she spotted the girls lingering in the doorway. “Come on in, we have eggs and toast and coffee.”

The two girls slipped quietly into the kitchen, loading up plates and pouring cups, before joining Charlotte’s parents at the table.

“Cordelia! I didn’t know you were staying over.” Mr. DuBois boomed over his paper.

“Oh, yeah, sorry I didn’t ask. It was late and we thought it would be easier.” Charlotte mumbled into her eggs.

“Of course, we love having you, darling.” Mrs. DuBois smiled broadly at the blonde girl. “I know how crazy your house can be, I’m sure it was nice to be able to sleep in all morning!”

Cordelia hummed, smiling as she took slow bites of her breakfast. Charlotte could tell she wanted to shovel it down, but was attempting to be polite.

“Did you girls get out the air mattress? And a sleeping bag?” Both girls winced slightly at the volume of Charlotte’s father’s questions.

“No, we, uh, didn’t want to wake you up. We just slept in my bed. Uh, together.” Charlotte stuttered out, putting on a wide-eyed, innocent face.

“Oh, sure. I just hope it was big enough.” Mrs. DuBois worried aloud, causing Charlotte to cringe slightly and Cordelia to cough over a laugh.

“Yep, nope, it was fine, thanks mom.” Charlotte assured quickly, giving Cordelia a wide-eyed look. “Well, thanks for breakfast! I think we’re gonna get out of your hair! See you later!" 

“Okay, just let us know if you’re leaving…” Mrs. DuBois trailed off as the girls collected their dishes, all but throwing them into the sink, and scurried off towards Charlotte’s room.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Charlotte let out a long sigh. “That could not have been any more awkward.”  
  
“Really? I thought it went okay.” Cordelia mused, glancing around the room for her belongings. “You know, the only clothes I have is my dress...” She trailed off as she glanced down at the pajamas she was wearing and realized they were Charlotte’s. “Is it okay if-”

“God, yes.” Charlotte cut her off before she could even finish the question. “You look so good in my clothes.”

Cordelia laughed, collecting her dress and shoes from where they had been scattered on the floor the night before. She looked sheepishly up at her friend. “I guess I should probably head out, then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” Charlotte agreed reluctantly. “Let me walk you?”

“Of course.” The girls, both clad in Charlotte’s pajamas and without shoes, began the short walk towards the McCoy house. The walk was quiet but not uncomfortable, and as they rounded the corner onto Cordelia’s street, Charlotte grabbed the other girl’s hand and pulled her to a stop.

“Wait, I need to do this one more time.” Charlotte whispered, leaning up into one last long, languid kiss.

When they pulled apart, both were smiling. The last few minutes of the walk were slow and indulgent, neither girl wanting to leave the other’s company. Inevitably they arrived at Cordelia’s doorstep. They embraced in goodbye before Cordelia slipped inside the house.

Charlotte couldn’t rid herself of her grin the entire way home.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is 1000 words of self indulgence. i wanted to get back into this story, but i needed (chardelia shaped) motivation. i still love this story and these characters and i'm hopeful that now that my life is a bit more settled down (?? maybe ??) i'll be able to write more of this.
> 
> anyway i love chardelia and i can't wait to make them suffer >:-)
> 
> pls leave a comment if u wanna it will help me be inspired to write more!! i love u <3

**Author's Note:**

> Ok here's some Other Info because you've made it this far:
> 
> -this fic will loosely follow the show's arc  
> -there's no death i promise  
> -cats will be involved (the animals not the musical whom do you think i am)  
> -90% of the time i spent writing this was an inner dialogue about how to phrase "senior year" in different ways so it didn't get repetitive  
> -i know nothing about working in a diner, being a waitress, or being jewish so... that's fun  
> -i am a Busy Lady and will probably not update this as much as i should. be nice to me.  
> -i appreciate constructive criticism but i am fragile ok  
> -i'm a high school senior so like... this is my life  
> -later chapters will probably be much longer this is just setup you know
> 
> anyWHOM happy eclipse please let me know if you liked this either in a comment OR you can message me on tumblr at musical-gal.tumblr.com (:


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